Psychedelics, Psychopaths, Heavy Metal

Halloween – The Metal Holiday

Halloween is without question the most metal holiday. Not only is it dark, twisted and full of mischief, but women use it as an excuse to be women.

But let’s get down to business, because one thing you absolutley must do besides thinking long and hard about a unique costume is rage long and hard to some metal tunes.

If you’re that chump who goes out and buys a doctor costume Halloween morning you can just kick yourself off this site now, you metalcore loving dick walrus.

Here are some choice selections to blare out your front door when the toddlers come looking for king-size candy bars. If some kid is wearing a ghost costume made of a bedsheet with eye-hole cutouts, make sure to give him double.

Running Wild – Prowling Werewolf

Now here’s a band almost no one ever mentions. A true classic sound with that gritty 80’s tone, these guys pen some great burners about historical events and pirates. This particular one is about your wife in the morning. Kick off your playlist with something truly original and steer the trick-or-treaters in the right direction.

Alice Cooper – Feed My Frankenstein

Here’s a great one to cover if you’re actually playing the setlist with your band. The Godfather of Dave Mustaine, Alice Cooper is a classic act who’s still on the road today. If you want to talk about band business, read about Alice’s career and the novelty of shock rock. Sometimes you have to create something that people don’t know they want, or take advantage of your presence as the center of attention. He did just that, and so can you. Hell, steal the ideas of the past and make a name for yourself, if only temporarily.

Play this one live and tell me how the ladies react to that funky Franky groove.

Annihilator – Brain Dance

I had to throw some Annihilator in there, I can’t say enough about their uniqueness and mind-blowing creativity. Jeff Waters might be the most underrated guitarist in all of metal.

This creepy joker-esque track just might be the theme song to half of this web site. That’s right, only half of the site! Hehehahuahaha!

You’ve got sinister riffing and catchy lunatic lyrics. I can listen to this shit all day, but you really have to be half-mad of course.

GWAR – Metal Metal Land

If we are talking costumes, then you absolutley must have some GWAR. I had the chance to meet Cory Smoot (RIP) a few years ago when his side band played at a bar I worked at. That guy can absolutley shred and it’s a shame he passed so young. Just recently we lost Dave Brockie too…what the shit is going on in the world?

This one is in honor of some of the greatest costumes ever created, and one of my personal favorite GWAR tracks.

Grim Reaper – See You In Hell

I mean shit, if you’ve never heard this one what the hell are you even doing here?

Mercyful Fate – Nightmare

If you haven’t heard Mercyful Fate you are missing out on one of the most incredible metal bands to ever exist. Almost every track is riff-city and this particular one comes from an album that sets the bar extremely high as an overall effort. King Diamond unleashes some of the most memorable vocal performances that will easily stand the test of time. Introduce the children to a masterpiece of horror and musicianship. That part at 3:20….god damn…

Speaking of children…

Metal Church – Watch the Children Pray

Another classic band you should check out in between bladeless chainsaw stunt attacks from your front door. The perfect song for the children!

Death – God of Thunder

I threw Death in the mix but decided to go with their heavy-as-fuck cover of KISS’s “God of Thunder.” This is one of the hardest rocking riffs, and I think the heaviness of Death on this track will punch straight through your virgin soul.

After you run through “Halloween” by Helloween, “Halloween” by The Misfits, and of course the Ghostbuster’s theme, drop these into your candy bag to really make people do the shuffle.

Of the bands you mentioned, I like them all. Only one I’ve seen live though is Gwar. Those guys are pretty awesome live. The blood/gore/cheese is enough to make the show enjoyable, even if you’re not a fan of their music.

Oops, hit the button before I even finished what I was saying. That was an accident.

Anyways, agreed Halloween is the most METAL holiday of them all. I took a break from it all and went to Barcelona for Halloween. Gotta say – Spain’s got some good looking women.

More importantly, as a heads up, when Makhaira does its first world tour, keep Spain in mind. While I was there, there were several Metal bands touring. Off the top of my head, Gamma Ray and Apocalyptica come to mind, but I know I’m forgetting about half a dozen of them. There’s definitely a market for Metal over there.

Europe is huge for metal. Annihilator, one of my favorite bands, exclusively tours there even though they are from Canada and would likely have a great turnout in the US. It’s killing me because Jeff Waters is one of my favorite guitar players.

Still need to get my ass to Wacken one of these years. Lot of great festivals are held in Europe.